The Ultimate Brakeless/Front/Rear/How many brakes? thread

When I built my first fixed bike I ran a freewheel with flats and 2 brakes for 2 weeks to get used to the riding position, skinny tyres, handling and refine the set-up etc - in other words to get aquainted with the bike. I then added foot retention and flipped over to the fixed side of my flip flop. Kept the rear brake until I found I was no longer using it and was used to riding fixed. I am now at the point where I am reasonably confident of stopping brakeless, although I will be keeping my front brake as it's very handy.

Keeping the back wheel on the ground is achieved by where you position your body weight whilst braking/slowing down, with brake fitted on the rear or otherwise, makes no difference. With a good front brake I find jamming it on as hard as you can is generally not a great idea. Controlled braking is how you stop quickly and effectively whether its a bike, motorbike, car, whatever.

If I was touring fixed I would run a rear brake also to assist with the extra weight of panniers etc, and to give your legs an easier time with all those miles.

totally take your point, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, controlled, smooth braking (which i do 99.999% of the time) just goes out the window. i'm sure other more experienced cyclists than myself have once or twice just freaked out and lost technique too. everyone does it. With a front and a rear braking mechanism (be it a rear brake or track wheel) the stopping force is dissipated between two wheels (i.e. two points of contact with the road) and the weight is more balanced as a result. it's not perfeect, but it's better than just one point of contact, where all the force is directed down into the road via the front wheel, thus creating a rotational force around that single pivot.